Last Stop - Bangalore

lotus blossom

my six month visa has about come to and end, and i'll likely be in bangalore for the remainder of my time in india (some work to do).

i am looking for these things here. can anyone make suggestions?

1. shopping for high end india gifts - exquisite but not overly expensive. fair trade/eco gifts esp. favored.

2. pancha karma treatment - not a spa that caters to westerners but a real indian treatment center that knows how to deliver personally tailored services

3. biocompatible tooth care. need a chipped tooth fixed. any reputable dentists that use biocompatible methods?

4. healthfood stores that sell organics?

5. best travel agency to buy my (one-way) ticket home.

thanks in advance...

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Prashant.M

Can barely answer one question

>> 1. shopping for high end india gifts - exquisite but not overly expensive. fair trade/eco gifts esp. favored.

1. Cauvery Emporium on MG Road. Its the corner shop at MG Road - Brigade road junction. Not sure if it is eco-friendly.

2. Oxford Bookstore at Leela Palace, The Leela Galleria, 23 Airport Road. They claim to sell eco-friendly gifts and tribal artifacts

3. Natesan's on MG Road and Indiranagar. They deal in antiques and I think they are on the expensive side. Check out www.natesans.net

4. Check this link out, there are four lists, antiques, art galleries, gifts and handicrafts. Hope it helps http://www.bangalorebest.com/service...bcatname=Gifts


>>4. healthfood stores that sell organics?
Try the Namdhari stores. They are there in Indiranagar and Koramangala. Not very sure about other areas.

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batistuta

You can contact the agency in the link below.They have reasonable fares.

http://www.aerojettravel.com/contactus.asp

In the parlour

Try Cottage Industries down MG Rd. There is a Kerala Handicrafts store (don't remember the name) just below it. Natesan's is VERY high end, but they frequently have beautiful bronzes made by lost-wax process and extraordinary wood carvings. There is also a Bombay Store which caters to tourists and NRIs, but I don't remember where it is. On Brigade Rd down from Cauvery is Pumpuhar, the state store for TN. I've gotten some very nice carvings there before, but it isn't my favorite store.

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Prashant.M

Bombay Store is near Spencer's supermarket on MG Road, nearer to St.Marks road.

I also remember a Rajasthan/Gujarat handicrafts shop on Residency road, opposite Taj Gateway hotel. It's on the first floor.

shilpaks

i also recommend cauvery emporium on MG road, th place prashant is talking about is called Gurjari(on Residency Road(either in the same building as Downtown Pub or the one next to that)) ...cauvery is a little steep but excellent products....gurjari is v reasonably priced but not much choice/variety
sorry lotus, cant be of much help beyond that question :P

lotus blossom

thanks for the replies guys. i'll look into the suggested places.

one more question. presently i am staying near the railway station, which is a bit noisy and busy. any suggestions on a 2-3 week rental that is reasonably priced (not more than RS 500 a night) and a bit shanti?

Prashant.M

Check out Royal Lodge. Its within Rs.500 (hopefully current rates) and near to where you are staying, but I doubt if you will get any shanti as its on the main road and in Majestic - Gandhinagar area. Anyway no harm in going there and checking it out.
http://www.royallodge.net/bangalore_..._tariff.ht ml

There are a lot of budget hotels in the area where you are staying but I don't know how good are they and their rates.

Be careful about the type of hotel you choose. But having travelled around you might know by now how to handle things.

Malkers

A couple of other places for gifts at much better prices than the emporiums mentioned.

Take a wander around Safina Plaza on the end of Infantry Road (parellel with MG Road), they have several independent stalls plus they usually have some kind of regional handicrafts fair in the exhibition hall downstairs.

Also, if you go to the Utility Building (the tallest) on MG Road, have a wander round there too, there is a shop called Gujarat & Rajsthan which is not government run, you can haggle quite a bit in there, it's a 30 second walk from Cauvery, has many similar products at half the prices of Cauvery!

Why use a travel agent to book your ticket, usually cheaper and easier to book directly with your chosen airline, they all have offices in Bangalore!

There's a briliant dentist called Word Of Mouth in the building next to TGI Fridays on Airport Road, Dr Arjun Das, no idea what biocompatible methods are though!

Can't help with much else but somebody else will I'm sure!

Cheers
Malc

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arunchs

Panchakarma: You can go to Art of Living Center in kanakapura road. A little outside the city.

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lotus blossom

thanks for the info. in response to your message here, i realize i am in a very indian part of the city since i've only seen one white face since i've been here, and the men act as if they've never set eyes on a white woman. some stop in their tracks to stare...this is one thing i won't miss when i leave india, though there will be a lot to miss...

lotus blossom

thanks malc - good ideas!

i am hoping to get the the art of living center; hoping to meet sri sri ravi shankar...

Prashant.M

Hey LB, just remembered that you were in Bangalore for some time. How was the experience? How was staying in Majestic-Gandhinagar area? Hope you found the antiques/handicrafts/artifacts that you were looking for. Would like to hear from you about the whole Bangalore experience. Going by other or other's posts, it might have been unpleasant, traffic, congestion etc. But still would like to hear about it.

lotus blossom

staying in Majestic-Gandhinagar area was not very pleasant, to be honest. i was traveling with an indian (male) but still, when we walked anywhere, men stopped to stare, and sometimes purposefully bumped into me or grabbed my behind! (speaking on issues of respect...)

it was interesting to be in other parts of bangalore, MG Road for example, where i was just another person on the street. ahhh...such a relief, it was...

didn't find much in the way of gifts, but ended up going back to delhi for my final week anyway, so did most of my shopping there. i did go to some of the aforementioned shops, and found a few things, but nothing special.

to be honest, bangalore was not one of my favorite places, but it may have been due to my experiences with the men in the streets...

lotus blossom

i did not find any eco-friendly gifts nor did i see anything in the way of what looked like tribal artifacts at the Oxford Bookstore.

i went to Namdhari health food store, but was disappointed in their selection. most was what i had found in a regular grocer, with the exception of two really yummy sweets made with dates, nuts and jaggery. but i did not see the organic foods that they claim to sell?

checked out royal lodge, but it was not that much less expensive that Sandyam Lodge, so stayed there. and it was not as nice, imo.